Crested Lark

Latin Name: 
Galerida cristata
Category: 
Size: 
18cm
Description: 

Sexes alike. Sandy-brown above, streaked blackish; pointed, upstanding crest distinctive; brown tail has dull rufous outer feathers; whitish and dull  yellowish-brown below, the breast streaked dark brown. The Malabar G. malabarica (15cm) and Sykes’s Crested Larks G. deva (13cm) are very similar, but overall plumage is darker, more rufous-brown; also both are birds of peninsular and S India. Small flocks, breaking into pairs when breeding; runs briskly on ground, the pointed crest carried upstanding; also settles on bush tops, stumps, wire fences, overhead wires.

Habitat: 
semi-desert, cultivation, dry grassy areas.
Food: 
seeds, grain, insects. VOICE ordinary call note a pleasant tee…ur…; short song of male during soaring display flight.
Distribution: 
N, NW India, Gangetic plain; Rajasthan, Saurashtra, N Madhya Pradesh.
Call: 
Call Description: 
ordinary call note a pleasant tee…ur…; short song of male during soaring display flight.
National Status: